Sacrifice and Second Life
by Starrynyte04
Summary: Continued story from Sacrifice by art-is-a-bang-yeah. Wally West/the Flash from The Justice League is Kid Flash who disappeared in Endgame. When he goes into the Speed Force in Divided We Fall, he comes back with Artemis in tow. What happens next? (M for cussing and chapter 3, though nothing explicit)
1. Chapter 1

**IMPORTANT:** This is a **continued story** that I wrote after reading **Sacrifice** by **art-is-a-bang-yeah. READ THAT FIRST! **I have permission from her to post this.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Justice League, Young Justice or any of its characters.

...

"_Flash? Who is this?" John asked confused._

"_This is…Artemis…my girlfriend."_

Wally could see the other founding members look down at him in confusion, but right now all he could concentrate on was the fact that Artemis was here. _Here_. In his arms. He's dreamed of nothing else for the past four years.

Artemis leaned over him sobbing and kissing him and whispering his name.

"Wally," she kissed the corner of his mouth. "Wally," the other corner. "Wally," she kissed his lips and Wally could feel the desperation in her.

"Artemis," he whispered as he sat up and held Artemis close, looking into her gorgeous grey eyes. "Artemis." God, he'd missed her. He couldn't remember feeling so happy.

"Okay, I'm confused. Who is she?" Shayera demanded with her hands on her hips. Flash could only bear to glance up at her for a second; he was too busy rememorizing every feature of Artemis' face as she lightly stroked his cheek.

Suddenly she frowned. "I need to see your eyes."

He could only nod and looked up at Batman.

"We'll go to the Watchtower. Then you can explain to everyone else."

"_Everyone else?_" repeated Diana picking up on those words. "You already know…whatever is going on?"

"Don't you know, Diana? He's Batman," said Wally in a monotone.

He stood and pulled Artemis up with him. She wouldn't look away from him, and he guessed she was afraid he'd disappear again. He scooped her up bridal style and whispered softly to her. "I'm not going anywhere, babe."

Batman had Mr. Terrific beam them, plus Nelson, to the Watchtower and led the way towards their private meeting room.

The Watchtower was a wreck from the battle between the league and the Ultimen. Most members were nursing minor wounds and they stared openly as the group passed.

Finally they were all in the room and had taken seats at the large table. Wally sat down with Artemis cradled in his lap and Nelson laid down at his feet.

"Alright, Wally," began GL, "Explain. Please."

Before he could say anything though, Artemis pulled back his cowl and smiled.

"Finally," she murmured. He remembered her telling him once how much she loved his green eyes. She leaned forward and gave him a short, sweet kiss still full of love and let her forehead rest against his as they looked into each other's eyes.

Someone coughed to bring back their attention. Artemis' smiled dropped, but she didn't look away from his face. Wally sighed heavily and turned to look carefully at each of his friends.

"Batman figured it out a couple of years ago, even though I never told anyone," he began slowly, "I'm not exactly from here. I'm not from _this_ Earth."

"What do you mean?" asked Superman. "You're from…_another_ Earth?"

"Yeah."

"Like the Justice Lords?"

"No," he said firmly. He and his world were not like that one.

He looked back at Artemis and she gave a small smile. He felt warmth spread through him and smiled back, perfectly content.

"Where I'm from is a lot like here. We have another Batman, another Superman; another Justice League."

He paused. _Where do I even start?_ he thought. It was best to keep it as short and simple as possible.

"The Flash in that world was my uncle. I got my powers when I was eleven and debuted as Kid Flash. The Justice League was already formed, and when I was fifteen, the sidekicks formed their own team. That's when I met Artemis." He said looking down at her. "We didn't…exactly…get along at first."

Artemis' eyes twinkled and she burst out laughing, surprising the other heroes.

"That's an understatement, _Wallman_." He chuckled at the stupid nickname he used to call himself and remembered the first time they met.

He looked up to see the others exchanging curious and slightly amused looks.

"She's right," he chuckled again. "But once I got my head out of my ass I realized she was perfect." His voice got softer. "My Spitfire." He felt her relax in his arms as he said that and she finally closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"After high school, we decide to quit the hero biz and live normal lives. We went to college together and got our own place…We were happy." Wally frowned. "And then Nightwing called."

Artemis moved her head so she could look at his face. He could see the guilt she felt shining in her eyes. He couldn't believe it. Had she been carrying that around all these years? No! He wouldn't let her tear herself up anymore.

"It's not your fault," he whispered to her. "I get it now. You did what you had to. We both did."

She opened her mouth to say something, and then just sighed and nodded, placing her head back on his shoulder.

"There's this organization," he explained to the league, "called the Light. It's headed by the most powerful super villains in the world, and they get all the other criminals to be their lackeys for their master plan. They had teamed up with this alien species called the Reach so that they could take over the world."

"The Reach?" interrupted Green Lantern. He squinted up at the ceiling. "I think I've heard of them. Yeah, on Oa. They had made a deal with the guardians a few millennia ago saying that they could only occupy a planet if the inhabitants wanted them there."

Wally nodded in confirmation. "Nightwing was in charge of the Young Justice Team, which worked covert missions. He asked Artemis to come out of retirement and go undercover, and she agreed. It took a few months, but we finally exposed the Light's and the Reach's plan to force them off world." He sighed. "They didn't go in peace though. They planted doomsday devices all over the world; only one was needed to destroy everything. We got all of them in time except one. When it move passed the point of deactivation, Flash and Impulse, another speedster, started running around it to create enough kinetic energy to siphon off the excess energy of the chrysalis bomb. It wasn't enough and I went to help. Unfortunately, I wasn't near as fast then as I am now and I provided an outlet for the extra energy."

Wally grimaced remembering the pain that went through him as the electric bolts hit him. "The energy transformed me somehow. I couldn't stay solid and my molecules suddenly moved too fast, kind of like what you all just saw me do with Luthor. I went into the Speed Force and it…teleported me into this dimension."

He looked down at Artemis. She was clutching the front of his uniform in a fist. He hated what he would have to say next, but knew she deserved to know what's happened the past few years.

"When I woke up, I was alone in the Arctic. I was so happy to not be dead, I didn't even think about the implications. I raced back to our place in Palo Alto, but when I got there…"

"I wasn't." she said.

"No." he said simply. "It didn't even take me a day to realize that this world wasn't the one I was used to. I went to Central City looking for my uncle thinking maybe he could help me, but, all I found was a grave."

"I didn't know how to get back. I didn't think I'd make it if I tried. That's when I decided to become the Flash here; at least I'd be able to help people. A few months later, aliens invaded and this world's Justice League was formed."

Artemis smiled sadly. "Well, at least you made the most of it. I can always count on you to find a silver lining."

Wally smiled and softly rubbed his thumb over her cheek. Again, he couldn't help but think of how much he had missed her.

"Flash…Wally, why didn't you ever tell us this?" asked Diana.

He didn't look away from Artemis as he answered, "At first, I didn't think you'd believe me, and then it was because there wasn't anything you could do. Doesn't matter now."

He bent his head and touched his lips to hers gently, trying to convey how much he still loved her in that kiss.

"I have to say, I've never seen you like this, Wally," said Shayera.

"Let me guess," spoke up Artemis as she turned to the winged warrior with a wry smirk on her face. "He's usually annoyingly happy, talking too fast, stuffing his face, or flirting with anything in a skirt."

Everyone looked back at her, shocked. It wasn't what she'd said so much as how…matter-of-fact she had sounded. Wally laughed.

"Hey! I'm a guy, I can appreciate natural beauty. Besides, none of it ever meant anything; my heart has always belonged to you, Gorgeous."

She smacked his chest with the back of her hand.

"You're an idiot Baywatch…but you're my idiot."

"Am I?" he asked with a questioning gaze.

She looked away and it felt like someone had stabbed his heart.

"After you…_died_, I…I…" she swallowed thickly, trembling slightly. "I had to take it a day at a time. I focused on school during the day and being Tigress at night."

"You didn't go back to being just Artemis?"

"I needed some distance," she whispered. "Anyway, I got my Bachelors and have been working as a translator since I graduated two years ago." When she looked back up at him with tear filled eyes, the knife in his heart seemed to twist. "I tried dating a few times, but…I couldn't." The knife disappeared. "I couldn't do it. I couldn't love anyone else. You've ruined me."

Wally felt a grin split his face. Maybe he shouldn't be so happy about this, but, wow was he ecstatic. He had tried dating too, to try and forget, but the hope that one day he might be with her again was too strong. For Artemis though, he had been _dead_, and yet she still clung to him and his memory. He had no clue as to how _he_ had been so lucky to have someone like her love him.

"I am never letting you go," he muttered as he pulled her tighter to his body. It was more of a thought spoken out loud, but she beamed up at him nonetheless.

"So? What now? I'm stuck in this dimension too now aren't I?" she asked.

"Not necessarily," said Batman. "Ever since I learned the truth about Flash's origins a few years ago, I've been working on a machine that can send you back to your own world. It's taken a long time, and I didn't want to say anything until I tested it to make sure it works, but it's only about a month away from completion."

Wally blinked in shock. He looked around the table at his friends, the family that he had made here. They looked back at him, some with encouraging smiles, Shayera with an unmasked frown, but he could see the sadness in all of their eyes. They didn't want him to go, not even Batman.

"I think we should stay."

He looked down at Artemis. She had her chin up and that stubborn look in her eyes.

"What?" he asked her.

"We should stay."

For a millisecond he considered it and then tossed that idea away. She was only saying that for him, but he would never take her away from her friends and family.

"But, Artemis, what about your family and everyone else you love?"

She bit her lip and then let out a quick breathe of air.

"Wally, my mom is dead."

"What?" he exclaimed. Paula had been pretty healthy last time he saw her, and during the months that Artemis was supposedly dead, he had grown close to the woman.

"Yeah," she said sadly. "It happened about a year ago, but she had been sick for two years before that. Cancer. At least I got to say good-bye. The rest of my family," her voice got hard. "Haven't changed much. Though, Roy is a good dad to Lian. Point is: I don't really have my own family in that world anymore. Your family, everyone on the team – they're good friends, and I'll miss them, but…they're all pretty happy. Their lives are full. I'm sure they'd miss me too, but they don't need me like _they_ obviously need you," she said as she gestured around the table.

He narrowed his eyes and stared at her hard.

"Is this what you really want?"

"Honestly," she replied, "I don't care what world we're in, as long as we're together, but I know that you want to stay here and protect this world, so don't even try to act like you don't."

Wally smiled. "I've missed you, Spitfire."

"You better have," she teased.

He looked at Artemis conspiratorially, "That day, when we were fighting the droids and disabling the bomb in Paris, do you remember what I said?"

"You gave a very bad French impression, then said that we would come back one day when the world doesn't need saving." She frowned, "And then I said that the world will _always_ need saving."

"True, but we already saved the world today. And see? It's only a couple hours after midnight," he said smiling. "So we've got about 22 hours until the next disaster happens."

"Hmm, what did you have in mind?" she asked looping her arms over his head.

"Well, first I'd like to give you something. It's something I had in my pocket that day in Paris, something that came to this dimension with me, and something I've carried with me every day since I've been here." He felt nothing but love for the woman sitting on his lap and couldn't feel any butterflies at what he was about to do. It was very different from when he was younger and nearly passed out from the nerves before he could even get the words out. From a small hidden pocket on his costume, Wally pulled out a delicate ring with three small diamonds set into the woven gold. He heard gasps from the present league members, but didn't dare break his gaze from Artemis'.

"Please tell me you'll finally be wearing it. Please tell me you'll marry me."

Artemis' eyes watered. She closed her eyes for a moment and then fixed him with a hard stare.

"On one condition: if you ever leave again, you're taking me with you."

"Deal."

"Good."

With that she grabbed his head and crushed her lips against his. He would gladly do this for the rest of his life. He didn't even care that there were others in the room watching them, but he wanted that ring on her finger, dammit.

He pulled back.

"So, is that a yes?"

She rolled her eyes, but something in his face told her he needed to hear it, so she responded, "Yes."

There were a couple cheers around them, and Wally knew he had the dopiest grin on his face as he slid the ring home. He didn't care though because he had waited four years for this moment; it was about time!

"Now," Artemis said making him raise his eyes back to her face. "How fast can we get to Paris?"

He jumped up with her cradled in his arms. "Um, hello? Fastest man alive."

"Still not sure that's something to brag about," muttered Shayera. Artemis heard and turned to look at her. Then she smiled and got a wicked glint in her eye.

Uh oh.

"Oh, it's _definitely_ something to brag about. Especially because," Artemis stage whispered, "_he vibrates!_"

Wally felt his eyes go wide and his cheeks flame.

"Ohwouldyoulookatthetime? Weshouldreallygo. Seeyoualltomorrow…maybe."

Artemis just laughed as he took off down the hall and barely paused at the teleport station before they were beamed down to Central so he could grab some stuff before they left for Paris.

...

Back in the conference room, Superman had his eyes covered in a facepalm, GL was muttering that he didn't need to know that, Batman and Martian Manhunter were statues, Wonder Woman was trying to figure out what Artemis had meant, and Shayera had her arms crossed, her feet propped up on the table, and was staring at the ceiling. Nelson walked over and sat on the floor to look up at her. After a minute's contemplation, "I like her."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Justice League, Young Justice or any of its characters

**AN:** Forgot to mention on the first chapter, reviews are welcome! Also, there will probably be six chapter in total since I'm almost done with the fourth. I will update quickly.

...

For the rest of the day, the Justice League, minus Flash, focused mainly on clean up in the destroyed part of the city around Cadmus and on damage done to the Watchtower. They held a press conference and tried to disband the League, but had their minds changed by the crowd. The founding members then sent a message to everyone that there would be a mandatory meeting for all league members the next day in the Watchtower.

When everyone was present, Superman praised the league on fighting off the Ultimen and rescuing civilians then briefly addressed what had transpired with Luthor and Brainiac. He was about to dismiss them when Supergirl threw her hand in the air.

"Yes, Kara?"

"Yeah, I was wondering," she began, "you said that Flash defeated the Luthor-Brainiac thing, but you didn't say exactly how. And, where _is_ Flash? Because he's the only one who isn't here and no one saw him yesterday. And I know I saw him carrying some blonde chick up here after the battle, but I thought civilians weren't allowed on the Watchtower, so who is she? And finally, um," Kara asked nervously, "Is Flash really from a parallel Earth?"

Superman narrowed his eyes at his cousin. "Kara! Were you eavesdropping again?"

"_So it's true?_"

Superman looked around the room and saw that everyone was holding their breath waiting for his answer. He really had to talk to Kara about listening in on private conversations and then gossiping about it.

He looked back at Batman and said hesitantly, "Maybe we should say, you know, so they're not swamped with questions when they get here?"

Batman nodded and stepped forward.

"To answer your question, yes: Flash is from another dimension, one much like our own. Following a battle, Flash was pulled into what he called "The Speed Force" which teleported him to this dimension four years ago, shortly before the league was formed. When Flash defeated Luthor and Brainiac, he used his speed to tear them apart at the molecular level where they'd bonded. Doing so once again caused him to enter the Speed Force. He would have disappeared, but Shayera was able to pull him back with the help of the other founders. However, Flash didn't come back alone. He had most likely been between dimensions when Shayera got a hold of him; _after_ he had made contact with the person he had the strongest connection to in his home dimension. The woman you saw was Flash's girlfriend."

He paused, deciding what more he should say. Really, Flash's personal life was none of his business, but his pause only gave an opening for more questions to be asked.

"He has a girlfriend?"

"What are they going to do now?"

"Are they staying?"

"How do we know we can trust her?"

Batman saw one of the teleport operators move and activate the platform. Two beams of blue light shone behind the crowd and Batman said, "It looks like you'll get the chance to ask them yourselves."

...

The last 24 hours were amazing, more than amazing. He and Artemis had spent all day in bed, making love for hours and then curling up next to each other and talking about everything that had happened to them since they've been apart. Some of it was hard to hear, like how Artemis had gone into a deep depression after his supposed death, or how he had struggled to make his place in this world all alone. They had to know though, and with her safely in his arms, he felt at peace for the first time in years.

When the Parisian sun came over the horizon, Artemis had been the first to wake. They had received the message of the mandatory league meeting and she was adamant that they go, hoping that she could convince them to let her join. He'd groaned and tried to convince her to skip it and stay in bed with him, but she'd finally managed to coax him into getting up and returning to his apartment in Central City before they go to the Watchtower.

John had called him over his comm. the day before to tell them that he had taken Nelson back to his place, and they planned on picking up their baby later that day.

When it came to the question of what she would wear, Artemis had insisted on keeping her alias as Tigress. Disappointment bloomed in Wally's chest. He wanted to be able to call her name no matter where they were or what they were wearing. Seeing this, Artemis explained that using her first name as her superhero name was just asking someone to put two and two together and he understood. So the disappointment disappeared, especially when she decided she wanted to change the design of her costume to match her old "Artemis" costume. It was just more flexible, she said.

Within an hour, Wally had used his speed, and his various connections, to put together Artemis' new costume. It was orange with black stripes down the sides of the pants and the middle of the shirt with three white scratch marks on it. He also provided her with a compact bow and quiver of arrows.

When she had finished getting ready, he had to admit, he liked the new look. She had grown her hair out long again, of which he was thrilled. His mouth twisted into a smirk. The long braid down the middle of her back was arguably worse than the previous ponytail, and he knew not being able to thread his fingers through it was going to drive him insane.

By then, the meeting had already started, but he still used his com link to contact and request teleportation to the Watchtower.

...

When the blue light faded from his vision, he immediately grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. He turned to the rest of the room only to find every league member shifting their eyes between him and Artemis.

His palms began to sweat as he felt the suspicion and curiosity in most of their eyes. The realization that he had lied to these people for years hit him and he wondered if they thought any differently of him now. Then Shayera spoke up.

"So, you two have a good night? Or day really?" she called over everyone's head with a suggestive tone in her voice.

_Oh Shay, you always know what to say._

He grinned as he saw Artemis blush slightly out of the corner of his eye.

"Everyone," he said, "I'd like you to meet Tigress."

"Hi," she smiled warmly, "It's an honor and a pleasure to be here. Flash told me a little bit about you all. It's nice to meet you."

The older adults hung back, reserving judgment, but Stargirl, Supergirl, and surprisingly, Elongated Man all came forward. The girls started firing off questions to Artemis while Ralph nudged Flash in the stomach and winked.

"Man, I never knew you dated such a hottie! When you two split, can I have her number?"

A feeling of rage that he has only experienced a certain number of times in his life come over him with little stabs of jealousy mixed in. Flash gave him a glare that made Batman proud as he moved behind Artemis and wrapped a possessive arm around her waist. The girls stopped talking as Flash grabbed her left hand and held it up so that Elongated Man, and everyone else in the room, could see the ring on her fourth finger.

"Mine."

He rather enjoyed seeing the shock on all but the founders' faces, though he continued to glare at Ralph as he backed away with a nervous smile and his hands up in a surrendered pose.

Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm yours. Now would you stop with the caveman act?" she asked annoyed, but soothed him with a quick peck on his jaw.

He grinned down at her.

"Sorry, Beautiful; couldn't help myself."

He could see that the league was starting to get over the shock of it all and some of them came forward to introduce themselves and ask questions.

He kept his hand firmly clasped with Artemis' throughout the entire interrogation, no matter how much someone tried to pull him aside. He meant what he had said before. He _was not_ letting her go. After almost an hour, he was starting to get frustrated with all the questions, but after basically repeating everything that was told to the founders, with a bit more detail, everyone seemed to except the fact that he and Artemis were from another dimension. No apologies necessary, and the league agreed to vote Artemis in after a trial week's evaluation.

The league members also seemed genuinely happy for them. Stargirl and Supergirl thought it especially romantic how they were now together after four years of "pining for each other's arms". He would have laughed at that if it weren't for the sad fact that it was true.

His stomach started to rumble and Artemis caught his eye.

"Hungry?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged in an "I-can't-help-it" kind of way and she rolled her eyes.

"Fast metabolism," they said in unison.

He started pulling her in the direction of the mess hall and the rest of the league fell into step behind them.

"I'll show you the rest of the Watchtower after we eat. It's really different from the one in our home dimension."

When he was piling his tray high with food he noticed Artemis watching him.

"What?" Had she really forgotten how much he eats?

"It's just," she frowns, "I know you eat a lot, but I don't remember it being _this_ much."

"Oh, yeah, well, after my little journey here through the Speed Force, I actually got a lot faster, so now I need to eat even more." For a moment he wondered if she would scoff at him, but she just smiled and said, "Of course."

They sat down at a table and he could tell she was also very conscious of the fact that _everyone_ was watching them. He started to dig into his food like normal when she kicked him under the table. He swallowed and looked up to meet her glare.

"What?"

"Do you not remember our deal?" she asked in a dry voice.

He looked blankly back at her.

"Chew with your mouth closed, or I will kick your ass a thousand ways to Sunday."

He gave his best sheepish grin.

"Sorry babe. It's been a while since…" he trailed off not sure he wanted to finish that statement.

"Since you used your manners?" she finished roughly.

He decided it was best to just start eating again, only slower, quieter, and all together more civilized, though it was still speed-eating.

"I don't believe it," said Green Lantern coming up behind her shoulder and staring in awe at Artemis. "You actually got him to eat almost like a normal person. Do you know how long I've been trying to do that?"

Wally focused part of his mind on eating and the other on watching John and Artemis. She turned and looked back at the Green Lantern with a mock sad expression on her face. "I am so sorry. Don't worry though, as long as I'm eating with him, Baywatch knows not to pig out."

"Baywatch," GL repeated. "That's what you called him the other day. Is there a story behind that?" he asked as he sat down beside her. Wally paused with his mouth full of food and looked at Artemis wide eyed. She gave him a smirk then turned back to John.

"As a matter of fact, there is a story behind that," she said in a little louder voice.

Wally glanced around and confirmed that, yes; everyone was listening with rapt attention.

"Baywatch got his nickname the first day we met. He, um," she frowned, "Well, you don't really know a lot about our dimension, so I guess I should tell you first that the Justice League was formed when we were kids, so there are some big age differences. Also that, after the four sidekicks at that time felt like they weren't being treated fairly, Speedy, Green Arrow's sidekick, decided to quit and strike out as Red Arrow, while Robin, Aqualad, and the former Kid Flash here decided to form their own team. That's after they broke into Cadmus labs and found Superboy and rescued him. The league decided it best that the Young Justice Team work out of Mt. Justice, the league's old headquarters in Happy Harbor, under Batman's orders, Red Tornado's supervision, and Black Canary's training. Martian Manhunter's niece, M'gann also joined the team as Miss Martian. Everything clear so far?"

"I have a few more questions now, but yeah, it's fairly clear."

She nodded and continued. "Well, Mt. Justice was located right on the beach, and the day that I was introduced to the team as Green Arrow's new sidekick, they had all decided to spend the day outside; all except Wally because he had to attend his first day of school in Central City. Because of the time difference, he didn't realize that when he got out of school, it was already sunset at Happy Harbor and everyone would be suited up. He came running out of the Zeta tube carrying a stereo, umbrella, chair, bag, beach ball _and_ cooler, wearing nothing but some swim trunks and flip flops. It's no wonder that he tripped and skidded along the floor!"

Artemis chuckled at the memory and GL laughed along with everyone else.

_Seriously, don't they have something better to do! _Wally felt his face heat up and ducked his head, thankful that his cowl would mostly hide it.

"The best part though, was that he was mid-sentence when he did it!" She imitated his voice. "'The Wallman is here! Now, let's get this party star-'," she smacked her hands together, "'-ted.' Everyone just stood there silently looking at him sprawled out on the floor with his sunglasses hanging half way off and sunscreen on his nose, the only sound being the beach ball bouncing over behind Red Tornado and Batman!"

Some of the leaguers howled at this, including GL. Wally just glared at him while Artemis continued.

"Anyway, like we said earlier, we pretty much hated each other at first. Partially my fault," she admitted. "After that entrance I just couldn't resist taunting him a little, and then Red Arrow showed up and told us he had rescued a scientist that the team was then assigned to protect. Before he left, he threw a bit of a hissy fit of how he seemed to be so replaceable. Since Wally had been friends with him for a long time, he said that if they had to choose between archers they'd pick him, so I told him, 'Whatever, Baywatch, I'm here to stay,' and the name stuck." She shrugged.

She added after a second, "Though, that wasn't his only nickname. 'Kid Flash' provided a lot of potential," she said with relish looking at him now. "Kid Mouth, Kid Idiot, Kid Malingerer, Kid Stomach," she sang.

"Unfortunately," interrupted Wally, "The best I got was Arty…still pissed you off though," he jeered.

She rolled her eyes and smiled innocently at him.

"What about 'Spitfire'?" asked Shayera from beside him. He nearly jumped at her voice as he hadn't noticed she'd joined their table. "That's what you called Ar-uh, Tigress."

"It's okay," Artemis said to her. "You can call me Artemis. I don't mind other heroes knowing my name."

Wally smiled at her. "Well, that nickname I can't actually take credit for," he started. "A couple weeks after Artemis joined the team, we were sent by Red Tornado to check on Kent Nelson." He looked over several shoulders to address Dr. Fate who, like all the league members was listening. "Artemis said there were some age differences. In our old dimension, you were an original member of the JSA, the prequel to the Justice League, and by that time, you were more than 100 years old and, well, a widow." He frowned. He knew that the Fate in this world was just as in love with his Inza as the old man was in the other universe.

"Um, anyway," he continued awkwardly, "You were retired and Klarion the Witch Boy and Abra Kadabra wanted the Helmet of Fate for themselves. You sort of…died, and I ended up putting on the helmet. While inside, Nabu controlled my body and defeated Klarion. Kent's soul got had sucked into the helmet because of how much time he had worn it. That version of you was kind of…kooky, but in a good way." He smiled softly at the memory. "I only knew him for about an hour, but he kept going on and on about his wife and how she was a 'real pistol'. And he was so calm about everything, even kind of amused! He took his death in stride because he knew he'd see Inza again. Before Nabu released me from the helmet, Kent gave me a piece of advice I'll never forget." He looked into Artemis' eyes. "Find your own little Spitfire. One who won't let ya get away with nothin'."

She smiled at him with all the love in her eyes.

He shook his head slightly still smiling. "If only I'd taken his advice right away. It took me months to stop being 'Kid Idiot' and just kiss you."

She scoffed. "True enough. For a genius you're pretty stupid sometimes, but we were fifteen, and you did wise up on New Year's."

Green Arrow had been listening at a nearby table next to Black Canary.

"So," he said, "You guys started dating when you were fifteen? And what's this about you being a genius?"

"Well, actually I'd turned sixteen by then," Wally corrected. "And, yeah, I've always been big into science; that's how I got my powers. I guess you didn't realize I work as a forensic scientist."

"You're _smart_?" he exclaimed.

Artemis laughed. "That's exactly how I reacted when I found out he was a nerd. He hides it pretty well, doesn't he?"

GA nodded then addressed his other point. "Still, you guys have been together ever since? Not counting the last four years of course."

"Yep." He smiled at him, then looked back to Artemis.

"Wow," said Canary, "I think my mind has officially been blown."

Wally frowned. "Why?"

"Well," said GA gesturing like it was obvious. Wally just frowned deeper. He knew it could be a little surprising, but was it really so hard to believe?

Superman came up behind GA and said, "I think what he means is that we're all finding out our…perception of you, isn't what you're truly like. I mean, you have to admit, you've never really shown any...scientific skill, and well, you didn't exactly seem like the 'relationship' kind of guy. I always thought you were just a big flirt."

Wally turned his eyes to Artemis who looked back with sympathetic and understanding eyes. He had explained this to her yesterday in bed, and now it looked like he was going to have to explain it to the league. He sighed, not wanting to have to share his personal feelings, especially when they weren't cheerful ones.

Artemis reached out and covered his hand with her left. He looked at the small ring he had given her for a second before looking back to her face. She gave him a small smile.

"Supes, think about this: you're from another planet, but you came here as a baby and were taken in by a loving couple and raised as a human around other people, and still sometimes you have trouble fitting in. I came here from an alternate reality, fully grown, with knowledge of my previous world, and I had _no one_. No one I could turn to for help, nothing to my name, hell, I didn't even have a name, not legally anyway." He could see a bit understanding dawning on Superman's and the league's faces.

"It took me months to stand comfortably on my own two feet and make my new identity. Luckily I knew how to hack, knowledge courtesy of the first boy wonder. Becoming the Flash made it easier; I could forget my problems and focus on someone else's that I could actually fix, but it presented problems of its own. I didn't want to be a hero like Batman who stayed in the shadows. I'm the Flash after all, and the Flash is a hero who people need to know they can trust, so when it came to dealing with reporters and the media, I couldn't ignore them. But I couldn't let on that I wasn't from this world and knew _a lot_ about what _could_ happen in this reality either. So, I decided to do the only smart thing left: I played dumb." He shrugged. "The flirting just came as second nature, which was good because it made me look a little more foolish. That way, if I did let something slip, no one would take it seriously because they didn't take _me_ seriously."

Diana spoke up angrily, "So all this time it was just an act?!"

"No!" he said quickly. Crap, how does he explain this right? "Well, the flirting was yes, and I did make myself out to seem stupid sometimes, but I'm still the same fun-loving guy, and I care about all of you. Really. If I didn't, I wouldn't have bothered trying to protect you from the truth. Information can be a dangerous thing sometimes, especially information about another you."

They all chewed that over for a few minutes and he took his opportunity to excuse himself and Artemis so that he could show her the rest of the Watchtower.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Justice League, Young Justice or any of its characters.

...

Two days later found Wally and Artemis heading to one of the gyms to spar. They had both recently gotten off Monitor duty and had dinner in the mess hall. Most of the league had gotten used to seeing them together, and once it was clear that Artemis truly was a 'spitfire', she had been welcomed with open arms. The two of them still had to put up with a small entourage though.

Wally realized he must have done a pretty good job of acting like an insensitive ass because every time he and Artemis kissed or acted loving in any way, those watching would aw or say something like, "They're so cute!" and then they would smile at the couple with dopey looks on their faces.

Couldn't he just be affectionate with his fiancée, he grinned at the word, without everyone making a big deal out of it?

The only bright side was that everyone knew he truly loved her, and would therefore maim anyone who tried to hurt her to the point of permanent disfiguration.

Still, all the staring was starting to piss him off.

They were going easy on each other in the spar, mostly working on form, but he caught her eye after a few minutes and decided to change it up and make it a challenge.

He knew her moves well. If she got him close enough, he was screwed. Despite his speed, she was killer at hand-to-hand combat. Of course, she was also a very skilled archer, so he was kind of screwed at long distance too.

He ran around her, trying to get her to fire off some of her arrows, which she did. He kept his path as random as possible so she couldn't predict where he'd be, and started running close to her trying to get in a hit. For the next couple of minutes, she dodged and blocked every time until she managed to trip him.

As soon as he hit the floor, he felt her weight on top of him, trying to pin him down.

"Gotcha," she said triumphantly.

"You sure about that?" he taunted with a smile, easily flipping them so he hovered over top of her.

"Yep," she grinned. She maneuvered her knees between their chests and pushed him over her head, rolling herself along with him so that she was once again on top. She pressed her forearm against his neck and gave it a little pressure so that he knew he was beat.

He just smiled up at her.

"Babe, you can kick my ass anytime."

"And don't you forget it."

She leaned down and kissed him. It was slow at first, but he quickly deepened it, placing one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her lower back to pull her closer. She moaned into his mouth.

"Ahem."

He ignored it and kept kissing her.

"AHEM!"

Wally finally broke away from the kiss to glare at the person frowning at them from the door.

It was Green Arrow.

"You two mind getting a room."

Wally scoffed. "Please, like you have any right to tell me that after all the times you and Canary have been caught 'sparring' in here."

Green Arrow blushed and turned to stomp off.

"You know," said Artemis getting to her feet and pulling him up with her, "he has a point."

He just pulled her close again and kissed her sweet and slow.

"Grrr," she groaned, "I really, _really_ hate this damn cowl of yours." He thought of how she would run her hands through his hair.

He chuckled and picked her up. He supersped them through the halls around any league members until he got to his room. He quickly punched in the code for the door to open and threw her down on his bed. He just registered the 'swoosh' sound of the door closing before he was kissing her.

….

Unbeknownst to the couple, Diana and Shayera were just a short way down the hall and had seen Flash take Artemis into his room. Stargirl was also in the line of sight and said sarcastically to the two founders, "Gee, wonder what they're doing."

Diana frowned, but Shayera smirked.

"Shh," she put her finger to her lips and walked over to the door and put her ear against it. She could hear them kissing and taking quick, raspy breaths.

"Shayera, what are you doing?" asked Diana. Stargirl had been about to walk away but paused to listen to her answer.

"I'm curious," said Shayera. "After Artemis' comment about Flash's skills in bed, I want to see how long the Fastest Man Alive can last."

"That's really none of our business," said Diana.

"Shh," Shayera reminded her.

Though the Watchtower was an engineering marvel, its walls were not soundproof, except for maybe those surrounding Batman's room. However, this meant that Shayera could easily hear what was happening on the other side of the door.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Almost eight," whispered Diana grudgingly.

"Um, guys," whispered Stargirl. "What _did_ Artemis say about Flash?"

Shayera looked at her. "Nothing. Now, why don't you go somewhere else? You're a little young for this."

Stargirl put her hands on her hips and frowned. "I'm nineteen and I've had several boyfriends. I'm not that innocent."

Shayera just shrugged, listening with her ear to the wall. It sounded like things were finally getting a little interesting.

Stargirl then whispered, "Supergirl, get up here now! We're by Flash's room."

Supergirl appeared less than a minute later having heard Courtney with her superhearing.

"What's going on?" she asked.

In whispered tones, they told her, and she grinned evilly.

"I'll be right back!" she said as she flew off.

She came back a minute later, still smiling and sat by Stargirl as they listened in on Flash and Artemis.

"Where did you go?" asked Stargirl.

"To spread the word," sang Supergirl. "Now shh, this is getting good."

Over the next 20 minutes, over a dozen leaguers showed up to sit outside the door. They heard moans, grunts, open mouth kissing, thumps, and pants all with their names thrown in. They also came to a consensus that Artemis had come at least once already, judging by the short shrieks.

Finally, after almost an hour after Shayera had started listening in, they heard Artemis get a little louder. Then all the sudden she shouted.

"NO. YOU. BASTARD! YOU BETTER FUCKING DO IT _NOW_!"

They heard Wally chuckle in reply and they all leaned closer to hear.

"Uh uh, Artemis. Only if you ask nice."

They heard her moan and then, wait…was she _begging_?

"Wally, _please_. Please. Please do it now. I'm so close," she whimpered.

More kissing and then they heard something that they weren't expecting.

"What is that?" asked GL, who had originally tried to make them leave.

"Oh my God!" Shayera scream-whispered. "Artemis wasn't kidding! He _does_ vibrate!"

There were shocked looks all around and several dropped jaws.

Black Canary looked impressed, and also slightly jealous. "Who'd have thought the Flash would be so good in bed?"

Only a minute later they heard Artemis stop breathing and then let out a high, drawn-out scream. Wally only groaned.

Things got quieter after that, and some of the members got up to leave thinking it was over. Then they heard Artemis moan again and the thumping of the bed picked up again in a faster than human pace.

"Wait, he wasn't done?" asked Diana. Some of the group, mostly the men, frowned. They were surprised Wally had lasted this long, but he still hadn't come when Artemis did?

They all sat down again and listened.

Three hours later, they were still sitting there, and they had been joined by even more leaguers. By this time, people were starting to make bets on when and who would come and where they would go at it next, since they had gotten up from the bed done it against the wall and on top the dresser several times as they had heard the items on top being shoved to the ground. The league was even keeping score of how many orgasms they each had. So far, Artemis had almost twice as many Wally. Of course, this just seemed to piss off some of the guys, who were by now feeling very incompetent in bed compared to Wally who clearly knew how to pleasure Artemis.

"I have to say," said Shayera at one point when both parties were getting loud, "this sounds really good."

"It is," said Kara who was eating some popcorn.

"Wait, are you using x-ray vision?!"

"Ew, no," said Kara like it was obvious that she would never stoop so low, "but I have been taking a few peaks at their heat signatures when they seem particularly happy…just to get an idea of position."

"Position of what?" asked a dark voice behind them. They all turned to see the Dark Knight himself standing there with a scowl on his face. "_What_ are you doing?" he asked menacingly.

No one could find the courage to answer him as he glared at each member in turn. Then he turned his attention to the door where very obvious noises were coming from.

He turned his face to Shayera, who he knew was the instigator of this and stood there silent for a moment while everyone watched with wide eyes and bated breath.

"I'll contact everyone over their comm. links if there's an emergency." With that, he turned and walked away.

Around midnight, Artemis spoke up.

She and Wally had just finished their latest round and the league was wondering if they were _finally_ calling it a night. There was no such luck however.

"Two minutes," they heard her say. "I need to pee, and you need to get your strength back."

They heard some crinkling and then chewing and guessed that Flash was eating some kind of energy bar.

They waited patiently for Artemis to return and when she did, the league got a very entertaining earful.

They could hear her creep to the bed and kiss Flash.

"Ah ah ah. No touch."

Flash groaned. "_Artemis_."

"No. I'm on top, which means I'm in charge," she said with a seductive tone. "If you touch, then I'll just have to torture you more."

Over the new few minutes, they heard him groan as though in pain.

"_Artemiiis._"

They heard a shifting and then a thud. For the next two hours, Wally and Artemis went at it almost nonstop.

At around 2:30 in the morning, the league noticed it was quieter and Shayera leaned over to Supergirl to ask if they had fallen asleep.

"No, they're just-" she stopped suddenly and the league almost missed Artemis ask how they had ended up on the floor.

"I don't even know," replied Flash breathlessly.

A pause and then Artemis laughed softly. "I think we destroyed your room worse than your apartment."

"Totally worth it."

"It's late," sighed Artemis. "We should get some sleep."

"Yeaaaa…"

"…One more time?"

"Real quick."

Half an hour later, the league all silently got up from the floor and left, no doubt in anyone's minds that Wally and Artemis were sleeping deeply, curled up in each other's arms. After almost. Seven. Hours. Of sex.

...

He and Artemis didn't wake up until almost noon the next day. When they were dressed, they made their way to the mess hall since they had missed breakfast and were pretty hungry. They had only taken a few steps in the large room when they heard clapping. Soon everyone else had joined in and was applauding and cheering. He looked down at Artemis and saw that she was just as confused as he was. Then Batman walked up to them and everyone quieted down.

"I'll be installing sound dampeners in your room today Flash."

"Oh-kay," he said taken aback.

Batman's lips twitched and then he brushed past them.

Artemis turned to him and whispered, "Do you think that…that's why…"

"It is," said Shayera coming up to them. John stood next to her and looked at him with a probing eye.

"Seven hours," she said clapping slowly. He blushed under his cowl.

"I told you he was good in bed," said Artemis next to him.

"_Artemis_!" he hissed. He felt slightly panicky.

"What?" she asked. "I thought guys liked it when their lovers brag."

"Yeah, but I work with these people, and Shay's like my sister."

Shayera waved away his protests. "After last night Wally, no one is ever going to look at you the same. Pretty much everyone here heard you two first-hand. Not that that's a bad thing though." She shrugged. "Actually, I think some of the guys want to ask you for tips." She smiled. "Oh, and I'm glad you pointed out that I'm practically your sister because now I get to steal her away from you," she said as she grabbed Artemis' other hand.

He didn't want to let her go especially when she gave him a look that said _Help me_, but he knew there was no going against Shayera. She was a spitfire in her own right.

So he glumly got his food and sat down with John, Green Arrow, Booster Gold, Vigilante, and Shining Knight. For a minute there was silence at the table while everyone stared at him. He looked behind him to where Artemis was sitting surrounded by the female members of the league. There was no doubt in his mind about what they were getting her to talk about.

"Hmm," said GA. Wally whipped his head around to look at the archer. "So, I thought you were called the Fastest Man Alive?" he said as a question.

He supposed there was a time when he would have bragged, but now, he didn't want anyone knowing what he and Artemis did between the sheets…or on top of them…or on the floor…or in the shower…or well, anywhere. _Get your head out of the gutter!_

"Were we really that loud?" he asked instead.

They glanced around and he got the distinct feeling they were hiding something from him.

Booster answered. "You weren't _that_ loud. Most of us wouldn't have heard anything if, uh…"

"If?"

They all looked…guilty. What the hell was going on?

Vigilante leaned forward and said, "Shayera saw you two go into your room and was curious. She caught the attention of Stargirl who then got Supergirl who then got everyone else."

He didn't understand what he was saying. "What?" he asked.

"We listened at the door," supplied Shining Knight.

"You _WHAT?_" he exclaimed.

"How the hell do you last so long?" snapped GA angrily, and before he could get another word out, one of the girls shrieked from the other side of the room.

"_SEVENTEEN HOURS?!_"

The guys' jaws dropped, at least he assumed Vigilante's did because he couldn't really see behind the handkerchief.

"What?" Flash asked sheepishly as every eye turned to stare bug-eyed at him. "I was a horny nineteen year old when that happened! And for the record, I don't just have superspeed; I have super endurance, too, otherwise the speed would be kind of pointless."

Silence met his ears.

"Un-freakin-believable," breathed Green Arrow.

Flash used the opportunity to speed-eat all of his food, shoveling it down even faster than normal. He didn't care if it was disgusting to watch. Those bastards had listened to him and Artemis have sex! In the 22 seconds it took for him to finish everything on his plate, he came to the conclusion that he was really angry with everyone. Listening in was a total invasion of privacy and only slightly better than watching.

He stood up, dropped off his dirty tray and then came back to his table where he glared at every single male hero present.

"If _any_ of you so much as _look_ at Artemis wrong, I will cut off your balls, stick one up your ass and shove the other one down your throat, and don't _ever_ do something like that again," he said in a low voice. "Got it?"

They all nodded at him like he was The Batman. Damn he must look really scary right now.

Good.

Just then, Mr. Terrific announced on the speakers that Solomon Grundy, Weather Wizard, Dr. Destiny, Metallo, and Volcana were attacking Metropolis.

He turned to Artemis who was already out of her seat and walking towards him with a new light in her eyes. Today was the first day she was allowed in the field as she'd spent the last three days training. He smiled at the thought. She wasn't actually training since she was already on equal par with Black Canary, Green Arrow, and almost with Batman. It was more like she was showing off exactly what she could do.

He took her hand and they hurried off to the teleport deck with Green Lantern following and found Batman waiting.

"We want to go down," said Artemis without any hesitation.

Batman looked at her, glanced at Wally, saw his smile, and finally nodded his head.

"Superman is already down there, but he needs help. Green Lantern, I assume you're going too?"

John nodded his head once.

"Then let's go," said Batman.

"You're going too?" Wally asked. Of course, Batman didn't respond and just walked up to the teleporter.

When they were beamed down to Metropolis, they could see the mess that the villains had made. They heard a shout and saw Superman land in a crater a few feet in front of them. Metallo emerged in front of him with his chest open so that Superman could feel the radiation from the kryptonite heart.

Flash was about to lung at him, but something beat him to it. He saw out of the corner of his eye that both Batman and GL got ready to fight, but Tigress didn't need to get ready, she was always prepared. He saw her blunt arrow aiming right at the chunk of kryptonite. It punched the green rock right through Metallo's back, making the man/machine scream in anger once before powering down and going still. By that time, Artemis had been moving forward and she launched another arrow that landed on the kryptonite and surrounded it with high density foam to shield Superman.

By that time, all the other villains were on the scene and coming towards her. She looked over at Flash and gave him a devious smirk.

"Wait," he said holding out his arms to Batman and Green Lantern.

"What do you mean wait?" yelled Superman who was struggling back on his feet.

"Watch," he said smiling.

Volcana and Weather Wizard were firing at her while Grundy chased after her. Dr. Destiny just watched her with narrow eyes. Tigress ducked and dove a couple times to stay out of Grundy's reach then fired an exploding arrow behind Volcana and hit the fire hydrant behind her, drenching her. Before the villainess could react, Tigress was flying straight at her. With a kick to the stomach, she went flying and was knocked out. Tigress then turned to Weather Wizard and ran at him, weaving between each bolt of lightning he sent her way. It was a simple matter of a few punches and a kick to the chest to get the weather wand out of his hand and knock him out. Grundy caught up to her from behind, but she just used the wand to send electricity jolting through his body. When that didn't completely knock him out, Tigress pulled one of her arrows from her quiver, jumped and stuck it on his chest, where it released a form of knock-out gas after she back-flipped away.

Now all that was left was Dr. Destiny. He stood a few feet from her smiling. She readied her bow when he spoke.

"Do you really think that toy is going to work against me? Against my mind?" he laughed. "I'll trap you in your worst nightmare."

Wally saw Artemis' eyes narrow to dangerous slits as she stood there, arrow notched and aimed right at Dr. Destiny.

After a few moments, Dr. Destiny frowned and Artemis smiled. She put her bow and arrow away and stood in a relaxed pose with her hands on her hips.

"How are you not trapped in your fears?" asked Destiny angrily.

"Because," she said, "I've already lived my worst nightmare. I survived."

With that, she ran towards him and executed a well-aimed kick to the face.

She looked back at Wally and the other boys standing on the side-lines.

"Damn," said Green Lantern.

"Even I have to admit I'm impressed," muttered Batman.

Wally was just grinning. "That's my Spitfire!"

She walked over to him.

"You didn't jump in to help," she accused him.

"You looked like you were handling it."

She rolled her eyes, but grinned. He knew she liked to kick bad guys' butts and look good doing it, so there was no way she was mad.

"Excuse me," said a voice behind them. He turned and saw Lois Lane making her way towards them with Jimmy following behind and snapping pictures.

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet," she said in a brusque tone to Tigress. "That was quite a display. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions. What's your name? Do you have any powers or is it just hand-to-hand combat and archery? Did Green Arrow teach you? Do you have your own city to protect? Are you an official member of the Justice League? Have they been welcoming? What are your personal feelings about upholding justice?"

She asked all this at once without giving Tigress a chance to respond and then shoved a recording device in her face. Wally worried for a moment if Artemis would say something snarky. He knew she hated reporters, "vultures" she called them, so he was surprised when he saw her smile.

"My name is Tigress. No I don't have any powers, but I think I do pretty well on my own," she said with a small laugh and a gesture towards the villains who were now being put into vehicles to take them to prison. "Green Arrow did teach me…a little…sort of. I don't have my own city, _yet_. I've got a few more days of my trial period and then I'll be voted into the Justice League and everyone's been more welcoming than I thought they would. As for my personal feelings, well, I love getting the bad guys, and it's good to be around the people I care about."

Lois smiled at her and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Tigress turned back to Flash. "So, what's next?"

...

**AN:** Please review and tell me what you all think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Justice League, Young Justice, or any of its characters.

...

Today, Artemis' trial week was finally over and the league was hosting a party to celebrate. Flash was excited and also slightly worried. He was happy for her. In a few short days, she'd already made friends with quite a few of the leaguers, especially Shayera. Catching them whispering and laughing together the first time had put a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach.

And yet, four years ago, he had done his very best to convince her to stay out of the hero business. He had begged and pleaded and gotten angry and frustrated when she stubbornly insisted on going undercover.

Now he was welcoming her into the Justice League. He had finally understood her need to continue the life. He had taken up the mantle as the Flash after all. People needed saving and they were the only ones for the job. He wished she would have wanted to quit though, at least then he would always know she was safe.

He was a hypocrite. He knew that. He would never give up being the Flash until there was either another speedster ready to take over or until he could no longer physically do it.

As he looked at Artemis standing a few feet away from him talking to Green Lantern, he gritted his teeth and accepted the fact that Artemis would be in danger at times, but he promised himself that he would always be there to protect her.

He moved forward to go talk to her when the Watchtower's alarms went off. A second later, a bright blue and white portal appeared. He immediately sped over and planted himself in front of Artemis. A shadowy figure appeared followed by even more figures, and when the portal disappeared, there were a total of eleven people standing in defensive positions staring at the league. At the head was someone Wally thought he would never see again.

"Where. Is. Artemis?" bit out Nightwing. Everyone in the room froze, not sure what to do. Wally's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. Nightwing, Dick, his brother, with Suberboy, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Beast Boy, and Wonder Girl on one side of him, and Aqualad, Zatanna, Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, and Batgirl on the other.

He could think faster than normal people, but his mind refused to comprehend what he was seeing.

"Nightwing?" Artemis asked coming out from behind him.

"Artemis?" Nightwing's eyes widened slightly behind his domino mask at the sight of her in her new costume, apparently free and unharmed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. "How did you get here?"

Zatanna spoke up. "I tried calling you a few days ago and you never picked up. When I went over to your place, you were gone and I found scorch marks on the floor. I called Nightwing to investigate and he found a trace energy trail. We thought you were kidnapped, and everyone's been so worried about you this past week. When we finally found a way to open up a portal that would lead us to you," she looked at her fellow heroes, "well let's just say you should be glad that the entire league isn't here."

Artemis beamed at them and finally the newcomers relaxed their stances.

Their Green Arrow moved forward and hugged his old protégé. "Glad you're alright kiddo. Come on, Zatanna can use one of her spells to open the portal back up."

But Artemis shrugged out of his arms.

"Actually, I'm staying."

The team all looked shocked.

"Artemis," Black Canary stepped forward using her motherly voice. "Why in the world would you stay here?"

Artemis glanced back at Flash and met his eye.

"Because I finally have him back," and she turned fully to Flash.

He stepped forward by her side and stood there for a second while his old friends looked curiously at him. His brain had finally caught up and he realized he was almost as happy as when he first saw Artemis after coming out of the Speed Force. Then he smiled and pulled back his cowl.

All their eyes widened and some gasped, their jaws hanging open.

"N-No," whispered Nightwing. "It can't be."

Wally just smiled wider. "What's the matter, Nightwing? Aren't you _whelmed_ to see me?"

His back stiffened, and Wally saw him glance at Artemis. What he saw must have convinced him.

"It's really you."

Wally nodded. "Yeah," he said a little sadly.

Dick walked forward slowly and stopped about two feet in front of him.

"Wally," he said.

Wally smiled again.

"Hey bro."

Dick lunged forward and wrapped him in a strong embrace which Wally returned just as fiercely. He could feel Dick starting to shake and knew that he was crying. Dick started muttering, "I'm sorry. You were right. I'm sorry. I never should have asked you and Artemis to come back. I'm so sorry."

"Stop," he said pulling away. Dick was a physical kind of guy and was always quick to show affection. Keeping that in mind, he kept his hands on Dick's slumped shoulders. Wally saw the silent tears running down his face, but gave him a slight smile.

"I was never in charge of the team, and only after being a founding member of this Justice League have I had the slightest inkling as to how much pressure was riding on you. I won't sugarcoat it; I was pissed at you and I had a right to be, but I forgave you a long time ago. Besides, I can't stay mad at you. We're family."

"Brothers?"

"Always."

Dick smiled slightly and nodded, and they share another brief hug.

When they parted, Kid Flash ran up and hugged him tightly around the middle with the biggest grin on his face. "Cuz! You're alive! I'm so glad you're alive!" Wally laughed and hugged him back.

"Hey Bart! Sounds like you finally managed to slow down a bit. By the way, the red and yellow looks good on you."

"Ya think?" he asked hopefully.

Wally saw the league members hang back and watch as he was greeted by his old teammates. Some of the girls went to go stand over by Artemis and hug her, but everyone was focused on him.

"Kaldur," he said as the Atlantian came up and they grabbed hands and shared a bro-hug.

"It is good to see you again, my friend," he said with sincerity shining in his silver eyes.

"You, too." He turned to Superboy who had his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. "What's the matter Supey? Don't you have a hug for me?"

Connor just scowled deeper and then scooped Wally up in a bone-crushing hug and spun around. "You're an idiot!" he yelled as he pulled him down in a headlock and gave him a noogie. They all laughed and Wally felt like this was one of the best days of his life; he had his favorite people surrounding him.

"Looks like the boys are back together!" said Batgirl.

"Oh God!" scoffed Artemis. "I just hope they don't revert back to teenagers!"

After a few minutes of them all hugging him and saying how happy they were, another portal open in front of them.

Out marched a very angry, very _pregnant_, red haired Martian.

"OKAY, I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE OR HOW PREGNANT I AM! IF YOU'VE HURT MY FAMILY I AM GOING T-" she screamed before her eyes widened and she took in the scene before her.

"M'gann!" yelled Superboy rushing over to her. "What are you doing here?! You were supposed to stay behind for a reason. What about the baby? What if these guys were bad and we were in the middle of a fight?" he asked her with wide eyes, but she wasn't listening.

She glanced around at everyone before finally returning her gaze to Wally.

"W-Wally?" she asked uncertainly.

He smiled at her. "Hey, green-cheeks, how've you been?"

Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped and she stiffened in shock. Then she beamed and put her fists up by her face as her eyes filled with tears. Finally,

"AHHHHH," she shrieked as she flew towards him with her arms outstretched.

"Whoa! Easy there, Megaliscious," he laughed as she collided with him.

"No one's called me that in YEARS!" she cried with happy tears streaming down her face.

He chuckled. "Well that was always my nickname for you, and, wow," he said has he felt her big belly in between them, "when Artemis said you were preggers she wasn't kidding!" Artemis had told him and some of the league a bit about his old teammates over the week, which was why they were only curious and a little confused by everything happening instead of freaking out.

"I know," M'gann said laughing as she pulled back enough to look at him. "And this isn't even our first one!" she went back to hugging him.

"Congrats," he said to Conner over her shoulder as he struggled to breathe. She didn't look it, but damn, Meg was strong!

"Uh, M'gann," said Artemis coming towards them, "can you please not kill my fiancée? I kind of need him."

The Martian let go of him like he was on fire and turned to Artemis.

"Are you serious?!" the others all made exclamations as well, but Artemis just sidled up to lean against him and held up her left hand, wiggling her fingers so the ring caught the light.

"Dude, plug your eyes," said Conner with a frightened look on his face as he covered his own ears with his hands.

"Why?" he asked, but he found out a second later when every female member of his old dimension screamed in delight. How only five girls could scream so loud he had no clue, but thankfully it was over real quick. They dragged Artemis a few feet away, talking over each other in excited tones. Some of the younger male heroes just stood there staring at them bewildered. Wally however, was a bit distracted by Green Arrow.

He stood in front of him scowling with his arms crossed.

"I don't think I have to remind you what I'll do to you if you ever hurt her," he said in a menacing tone.

A pregnant pause settled over the two as Wally remembered when Green Arrow kidnapped him after he found out he and Artemis were moving in together. He kept a calm and serious facade as he answered the archer.

"I love her. I would never to anything to intentionally hurt her. You know that I would die for her." He stared straight into Green Arrows eyes who snorted a minute later. Then he looked over the crowd of leaguers until he spotted his double. Wally watched with interest as Green Arrow marched over to stand in front of the other.

"I know you haven't known Artemis long, but to me, she's like my daughter. So if Flash boy there," GA pointed over his shoulder to him, "ever hurts her, I expect you to strike back with much deserved violence."

The other Green Arrow looked confused for a moment then glanced back at Flash. He bowed dramatically and said, "It would be my honor."

"Great," muttered Wally. Now he's got _two_ Green Arrows to look out for.

"Hey, it could be worse," said Artemis coming up to him. "At least in this world you don't have to worry about my father or sister."

Wally felt an uncontrollable shiver run down his spine at that.

"Don't. Remind me."

She just laughed lightly. She turned to the rest of the league. "When Wally and I came out publicly as a couple, everyone had something to say to him."

"Yeah," he said grumpily. "That was _not_ a good week for me. First I get Oliver ambushing me and hanging me upside down while threatening me. Then Uncle Barry sits me down to have the most embarrassing 'Talk' ever. I thought it would be over after Sportsmaster and Cheshire kidnapped me and tortured me to try and get me to stay away from you, but _then_, Superboy, Robin, and Aqualad knock me out, take me to some god-forsaken desert, and then leave me half-starved with 50 pound weights chained to my feet," he finished glaring at the said trio. "Which I never understood by the way, considering you three wanted me and Artemis to get together."

"Yeah," said Nightwing, "but she was practically our sister. We just wanted to make sure you treated her with respect."

"But we never did anything like that to you when you dated Zatanna, or to Superboy after we found out about him and M'gann!"

Beast Boy spoke up angrily. "We did the first time he got my sister pregnant," he smiled evilly. "That was fun."

Wally glanced at Conner who went wide-eyed and had a slightly sick look on his face.

"Hmm," he said. "I'm sorry I missed that."

Nightwing shrugged. "Why complain about it? It looks like it worked. You're totally whipped!" he said snickering.

"Since when is that a bad thing?" asked Wally smiling.

"Yeah 'Wing," interjected Batgirl. "When is that a bad thing?" She glared at him.

"It's not!" said Nightwing, walking over to her and doing his best to smile charmingly at her. "I-I just meant…um…I love you."

Wally snickered and called over to him, "And you call me whipped!"

For the next twenty minutes or so, Wally talked with his old team, and some of the league also started conversations with some of the members, asking and answering questions in turn. Then Nightwing said loudly, "Alright everyone, we really should head back now. I'm sure everyone's worried about what's happening, and we need to tell them the good news."

There were groans and complaints all around, but the other eleven heroes all trudged over to Nightwing as Zatanna started a spell to open a portal.

Wally's smile faded. He was going to miss seeing his friends – his family – again. Then he remembered what Batman had said and looked questioningly at the Dark Knight. As though he could read his mind, Batman met his eye and nodded his head.

He beamed.

"Is there any way I could convince you to come back?" Nightwing asked, drawing back his attention.

Wally glanced at Artemis who gave Nightwing a small smile and then just shook his head. Nightwing deflated only a little at this, seeming to have accepted the fact before, but couldn't resist asking on the small hope that Wally and Artemis would return with them.

"Hey, don't look so down," said Wally with a smile. "Bats has been working on a machine that will allow us to come visit."

"Really?" asked Nightwing.

"Yep, but it won't be done for a few more weeks."

Nightwing and everyone else smiled though.

"In that case, I better start planning your Bachelor party," he said rubbing his hands together and letting out a little cackle that took Wally back.

The other visiting heroes just groaned.

"Please, 'Wing, do not let it get like the time Roy convinced you, Wally, Conner, and Kal to drink with him," asked M'gann.

"Why not?" exclaimed Batgirl. "That was freaking hilarious! I still have it on file somewhere."

The boys whipped their heads around to stare at her in horror.

"You said you deleted all the evidence," said Kaldur who was looking uncharacteristically panicked. Wally grinned. He hadn't been able to remember Kaldur using his water bearers to spread purple paint all over the golden statues in the Hall of Justice, but he sure as hell had seen the video. Apparently, when Nightwing had shown up at Barbara's where the girls were having a sleepover completely drunk off his ass, they had decided to follow him and the guys at a discreet distance and film their antics that night.

Nightwing coughed trying to diffuse the situation. "Anyway, we should go," he said as Zatanna turned around with a portal swirling behind her.

One by one, they all hugged Wally and Artemis goodbye and disappeared until only Nightwing remained.

Wally met the white holes of his domino mask not daring to blink.

"You know once we tell everyone, he's going to come here," said Nightwing in a serious tone.

"I know," said Wally smiling.

Nightwing nodded and backed up towards the portal.

"I was serious about that bachelor party by the way, so you better come visit soon or else I'll just have to come and drag you back for one last crazy night."

"Come on, man," teased Wally, "Don't be such a DICK!"

Nightwing opened his mouth angrily and then said, "Alright. Fine. I'll let you get away with it. _This time_," he said pointing a menacing finger at him. With that, he walked into the portal and was gone.

Wally stared at the spot where they had disappeared, smiling, waiting for the next portal to open, as he knew it soon would.

Most of the league started talking to each other about the other heroes, but John, Superman, and Shayera came over to talk to Wally who was holding Artemis' hand.

"So…what happened when the five of you got drunk?" asked Superman rubbing his chin and smirking at him. Artemis laughed and started to tell them of that night, but Wally tuned it out as he kept an eye on that one spot.

"That's nothing though," she said when she finished the tale. "You have yet to hear of all the pranks Kid Flash pulled, both on the league and on the team."

Before anything else was said, another portal opened up on the Watchtower. Wally watched the league members all turn and stare patiently waiting for the newcomer to appear. He supposed they were getting used to all this interdimensional travel.

Only one person came out of the portal this time. He was a fairly tall and well-toned man in his early forties with blond hair and blue eyes that had surrounding laugh lines. Unlike those before him, he wore a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt with a light jacket over top.

Wally felt his heart expand at seeing him. He looked older than before, of course that was to be expected, but there was still a shining light in his eyes. Wally had kept his cowl down, and he now turned to fully face the man with a big smile.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," he said lightly. "Still the last one to arrive I see."

"What can I say," the man shrugged, "old habits die hard." But there was only happiness in the man's voice as he stood grinning at Wally.

"Hi Uncle Barry," he said as he moved forward at the same time his uncle did and they both wrapped each other in a hug. Wally dimly noticed that he and his uncle were the same height now. They both pulled back and had identical smiles on their faces.

"Hey, kid," Barry said as his hands automatically latched onto Wally's shoulders as he looked him up and down. "Nightwing told me everything."

"And?" asked Wally with a bit a nervousness fluttering in his stomach.

Barry just smiled wider.

"I am so proud of you." And the way he said it made Wally go warm all over. He had spent years as Kid Flash, and though he never said it or gave any indication of it at all, he had worried if he would never be as good as his uncle. He had wondered if he would always be compared to the Flash and come out second-best. Now those fears were gone. He had made his own place as the Flash.

"Is that it?" asked Wally even though he was still smiling. "You're not going to try and convince me to leave?"

"Nope," Barry said lightly. "It wouldn't do any good. You've made a home here, and even though I'll miss you, I know you're exactly where you're supposed to be."

They both beamed. This is why he loved his Uncle Barry. He always honored his decisions, even if he didn't always agree with them. Instead of trying to change his mind like everyone else, he let him find his own way, but was always there to help him pick up if he fell.

This time, he didn't need to be picked up, and the pride that shone in Uncle Barry's eyes as he looked at Wally gave him one of greatest feelings ever.

Barry glanced behind him. The portal hadn't disappeared like it had when Nightwing and the others had come.

"Zatanna's keeping the portal open for me, so I'm afraid I can't stay any longer. I just had to see you and tell you how proud I am of everything you've done. I always knew you'd be a great hero, and you're a far better man than I am."

"That's not true, Uncle Barry," said Wally shaking his head and he meant it. "You were my hero both in and out of costume."

The two men hugged again and then Barry hugged Artemis and kissed her on the cheek.

"Now be careful, and watch each other's backs," he warned. "And whatever you do, please for the love of God, do not get eloped. Your Aunt Iris would kill you if you robbed her coming to your wedding," he said to Wally, "and then she'd kill me for not stopping you."

Artemis laughed, "Don't worry; we're going to take things slow, at least in speedster terms, and we're not going to plan anything until we can discuss it with everyone we want in the wedding. That includes you and the rest of the family in your dimension."

Barry nodded and smiled at her and turned to Wally.

"See you later, kid."

"See you later, Uncle Barry."

After his uncle stepped back into the portal and was gone, he still had a huge smile on his face. He felt Artemis looking at him carefully.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he said. "Better than okay." He looked at her and, just because he felt like it and everything was right in the world, leaned down and kissed her. They both had grins when they broke apart.

"That was your uncle who was the Flash in your world?" asked Batman who had quietly walked over to them.

Wally pulled his cowl up and nodded.

Batman did a rare thing then and smiled. Not a smirk, but an actual smile.

"I see," he said and walked away.

Wally was still smiling so much that it almost began to hurt. It was very clear to the other leaguers that Wally had idolized his uncle and it was easy to see why. Besides Barry being a superhero, he just seemed like a great guy who obviously loved his nephew like a son.

The party was nearly over, but everyone was in such a good mood they decided to hang around a while longer. Wally left the Watchtower later with Artemis thinking over what had happened and hoping that Batman would get that machine working really soon.

...

**AN:** Please review! Also, I will be writing one more chapter and then an epilogue.


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you ready?"

Wally looked over at Dick dressed in his tux then looked back at himself in the mirror. He cleaned up quite well if he did say so himself.

"I've been waiting for this fro years. Of course I'm ready," he answered with a smile.

True to his word, it had only taken Batman two weeks, five days, and thirteen hours after the little interdimensional visits to finish his prototype IDPG, short for _Interdimensional Portal Generator_.

Visiting his home world had been bittersweet. Memories surfaced, both good and bad, but he didn't regret it for a second. Everything had turned out perfectly when he and Artemis visited their friends and family, and after a few visits, they decided that the league in that world should be given an IDPG to use as well.

From that moment on, most of the women from both worlds (super and civilian) could be found huddled together working on wedding plans somewhere in the Watchtower. Wally was also glad to find that Dick, Connor, and Kaldur got along well with his other friends, especially John. It got to the point where an agreement had to be made that after the wedding, visits between dimensions would have to be further apart.

Now the day had finally arrived and Wally found himself vibrating on the spot. He couldn't wait to see Artemis walk down the aisle.

There was a knock on the door and it was opened immediately. Shayera appeared in a lilac halter top dress that flared out at her hips and ended just above her knees. Her hair was shiny and her lips were a bright red.

"Uh, guys? We have a slight problem," she said.

_Crap. What had gone wrong now? Is a villain attacking? _Even if there was, a few members of the league that weren't as close to Wally and Artemis had volunteered to take care of any situation that arose. Besides, the heroes in both dimensions had spent weeks making sure every major villain was locked up for the day.

_Was it some kind of natural disaster? _Maybe, but looking at Shayera, that didn't seem to be the case.

_ The wedding! It must be something to do with the wedding! Is it the caterer? The flowers? No, it's the musicians, I just know it. Or maybe it's John. Did he tear his suit or something?_

All these thoughts went through his head while his face displayed his growing panic.

"Wally," Shayera said looking at him solemnly, "you need to go talk to Artemis."

"What? Why?!" he asked wide eyed.

"Because she's freaking out," she said frowning slightly. "Look, she's feeling a little overwhelmed and, well, Zatanna told me to come get you while she stays with Artemis."

He didn't understand. "What happened?"

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you," she said with her hands on her hips. "One minute she was fine and then the next she was bawling her eyes out."

"What?!"

"Just go talk to her!" said Shayera sounding exasperated.

He didn't need to be told again.

He passed very few people as he made his way through the halls of Wayne Manor. Funnily enough, when he and Artemis had been discussing the venue for the wedding, Batman had overheard and offered them the Manor and its back garden. Wally had just grinned at that, knowing that even though he didn't say it, he was showing that he cared for them and wished them to be happy, and frankly, the Manor was perfect. It was large enough that everyone could fit but still offered enough privacy, which was important as not only were most in attendance heroes, but there were also about two dozen doubles from another dimension.

He came to a door on the ground floor where Artemis and the girls were getting ready. He knocked a couple of times and then shouted, "Artemis? It's me."

Zatanna opened the door a crack and slid her body out. She was wearing a dress similar to Shayera's, only a little darker in color.

"How is she?" he asked her.

Zatanna tried to give him a smile but then just grimaced and walked away.

When she had turned the corner, he knocked on the door again, feeling much more anxious than he was a few minutes ago.

"Artemis, can you hear me? Please talk to me!"

He heard some shuffling and then some sniffles.

"Wally?" Artemis's cracked voice came from behind the door.

He sighed in relief.

"Artemis, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

There was silence for a minute and then Artemis's panicky voice answered.

"I can't do it Wally! I can't! It's not because I don't love you because I do! I really, _really_ do, but I don't know how to be a wife. What if I screw up and you hate me?! We're good now, right? Can't we just stay like we are?"

He heard her crying on the other side.

"Artemis, are you telling me you're afraid to get married?"

"…No," came the mumbled reply.

He leaned his back against the door, trying to think of what to say or do. He opened his jacket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper from the inside pocket and opened it up.

"Artemis, I want you to listen to what I'm about to tell you." He cleared his throat.

"Artemis, the day I met you was one of the worst days of life. My pants got wet from a malfunctioning water fountain, I got hit by about a hundred dodge balls, and then I missed the day at the beach with my friends. The worst part was when I came to meet the team. I tripped and literally fell at your feet. I was so embarrassed that I didn't want to admit how beautiful you were, and when you teased me with that snarky mouth of yours, it was easy to convince myself I didn't like you. But as time went on, that became harder to do. I got to see the different sides to you. How strong you really are, how determined to do the right thing, and yet how caring you can still be. You're my Spitfire, and you never put up with my crap. You keep me grounded." He paused for a minute. "The first time I knew I wanted to marry you was when we were seventeen years old. We were with our group of friends and somehow we ended up talking about what we wanted to do in life. M'gann joked about us getting married and we both brushed it off, but really I didn't because I could see it. I knew then I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and everything that's happened since then has only confirmed it even more. I love you Artemis, all of you. And I know I always will."

He folded the paper back up and put it back in his pocket.

"If you don't want to get married because you're not ready then okay. I will go out there right now and tell everyone the wedding is off, and I will still wait forever for you. But if you don't want to get married because you're afraid you'll fail, then you're not the Artemis I fell in love with. That Artemis would never let fear hold her back in life or stop her from being happy."

For a moment he stood there and he felt his already taut nerves stretch even tighter. The door was flung open and he would have toppled onto the ground if Artemis hadn't flown into his arms.

"Artemis!" he exclaimed, squeezing his eyes shut immediately. "It's bad luck for me to see the bride in her dress before she comes down the aisle!" Luckily he only he only got a glimpse of white. That doesn't count, right?

He held Artemis in his arms though, because it just felt so right. He didn't think she was crying anymore either.

"Wally," she said, and he could just tell she was rolling her eyes. "You know, sometimes I forget how I fell in love with such a dork, and then you go and do something like this, and I remember."

He felt her lips press against his and he kissed her back gently.

When they parted she said, "Okay, I'm ready, or I will be once Zatanna fixes my make-up."

He chuckled. "You always look beautiful, but I'll go get her."

Without opening his eyes, he turned and walked down the hallway.

"Why are your eyes closed?" a voice asked.

He peeked open one eye and saw Zatanna standing in front of him.

"Hey, I talked to Artemis. She's okay now." He smiled, relieved. He had meant what he said to her; he'd love her forever whether they got married today or not, but he was really happy he didn't have to call off the wedding.

"Great!" she said clapping. "Now, go outside and stand ready. We'll be able to start in just a few minutes."

"Right," he nodded.

He made his way out the back doors and up the center aisle. He looked around, amazed at the decorations. They were beautiful and elegant, yet simple. White chairs stood in rows on each side of the long white carpet that ran up to a light wooden archway covered in vines and small blue and purple flowers.

Most of the seats were filled and numerous people wished him luck and congratulations as he stood up at the front with his two groomsmen, Dick and John. Wally remembered the turmoil he had felt when he needed to announce who his best man was going to be. He and Dick had known each other for ever and were brothers in every way but blood. However, he had long since considered John a brother as well, and didn't want to make either one feel like he was choosing favorites.

In the end, John and Dick had decided for him. Dick would be the Best Man, but John wanted to be the godfather of his and Artemis' first kid. Dick hadn't exactly been thrilled, but said that with him living in another dimension, it was best if the godfather was someone closer to home and John was obviously the best choice.

The three men were joined by question who only agreed to remove his mask for the ceremony after being threatened by Huntress. He was the only one in either league that had a license to officiate a wedding, so he would be conducting the ceremony. When asked why he had a marriage license when he thought the institution was a government conspiracy, he simply said, "To know thy enemy, you must become thy enemy".

Wally sighed. He was the only choice they had.

Soon, the music started and everyone stopped talking and turned around to face the open double doors where the procession would start. Wally immediately straightened his back and took a deep breath.

First came his cousin Don as the ring bearer in his adorable tux. Dawn and Lian were right behind him as the flower girls, dressed in yellow and throwing out soft pink and yellow rose petals. Wally glanced around and saw not one, not two, but _three_ Roy Harpers. Explaining to this league how that had happened had been quite an experience, one where the Green Arrow of this world had promptly freaked out and pretty much put his Roy on house arrest for two weeks after running numerous medical tests on him.

After a slight pause, Shayera stepped out, looking as though she really was an angel with those wings of hers. Zatanna followed her and he saw her peaking glances at Kaldur. Wally had been surprised by the changes in his friends' relationships. Zatanna had long since moved on from Dick and given her blessing and her luck to Barbara while she and Kaldur had gone on a few tentative dates. Once the two women were at the front, two more figures were seen at the door. When the light hit them, Wally felt his breath catch in his throat.

He was so right to have waited to see Artemis until this moment.

She was stunning; a goddess he would gladly worship for all time. Her white dress was strapless with a sweetheart neckline. Below the bodice, ribbons wrapped around the dress, hugging her waist until the fabric could flow freely around her hips and drape elegantly to the floor. Her hair was pulled back from her face and decorated with pearl and emerald pins that held up a sheer strip of cloth meant as a vale over the back of her hair. Her make-up was subtle and made her stormy eyes look so much larger and bright. Her tan skin was glowing and her lips were glossed a soft pink.

As he watched her walk up the aisle with one hand clasped around Ollie's arm and a small yellow rose bouquet in the other, a soft blush lightened her cheeks and he felt a shit-eating grin light his face.

They made it up to the archway and Ollie placed her hand in his. Then the ceremony began.

He honestly wasn't paying too much attention to the words Question, Victor without his mask, was saying, though a couple times Dick or John would cough and glare at the man when he start to deviate from the script. When it was time for their vows, Wally spoke the words he had said to Artemis earlier and her answering smile gave him the feeling in the pit of stomach that told him once again that this was _right_.

After, it was Artemis' turn to speak. He saw her hesitate for a second and knew that this was going to be hard for her. She did not like to talk about her feelings, but she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"Wally. I have tried to put my feelings into words and found that was impossible. I can't even list why I love you because most of the things I love also drive me crazy!" she smiled and he heard a few chuckles from the crowd. "It doesn't make sense, but maybe that's the point. You were able to sneak past all my defenses and break down my walls with your bad jokes and cornball attitude, and before I knew what was happening, I'd fallen for you." her smile faded. "I know what life is like without you and I'm afraid of ever going back to that. But it's worth it to just be with you because you make me better. You make life better, and when you look at me, I feel loved. I'm not one to wear my heart on my sleeve, but I will tell you every day for the rest of my life that I love you. Because it's true."

No feeling has ever topped this; a few come close, but this was definitely the best he's ever felt in his life.

Victor asked for the rings, which were two simple gold bands, and he and Artemis slid them on each other's left ring finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," said Victor monotonously.

Wally glared at him and he rolled his eyes.

"You may kiss the bride."

He and Artemis kissed while their friends and family cheered. They broke apart after a few seconds and just smiled at each other, that is until _someone_ – Dick – threw a handful of rice over them. Then they walked down the aisle as husband and wife, through the doors and made their way to the ballroom where they would have the reception.

The rest of the evening was a blur, one filled with laughs, dancing, and good food. Speeches were given by Dick, Zatanna, Shayera, Oliver and Dinah. When Wally looked over the crowd and caught Bruce's eye, the Dark Knight even raised his glass and nodded his head to him.

Towards the end of the night, Wally pulled Artemis away from his aunt and uncle and brought her to the dance floor.

"So," he asked her with a cocky grin, "was this all so bad?"

"No," she said as she smiled contentedly. "Although, I'll have you know that Shayera plans on skipping all the frou-frou stuff when she gets married. I can't really blame her."

"Please," he said as he hugged her tighter to his body, "admit it. You enjoyed it."

She sighed and looked up at him. "Okay. _This_, is perfect."

And it was.


	6. Epilogue

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own the Justice League, Young Justice or any of their characters

...

_Fifty years later_

Wally laid down on his bed. In the semi-darkness, his eyes drifted over to the two pictures on his bedside table.

The first one was in a rectangular picture frame and showed two twins, a boy and a girl, standing behind their younger brother. The older boy had blonde hair and green eyes the same shade as his sister, only she had the same fiery red hair as their father. The younger boy was the spitting image of his father at that age, only with his mother's blonde hair and grey eyes.

Wally smiled at the photograph as the memories washed over him.

_It was only a couple months after he and Artemis had gotten married and she had been trying to get him alone all day and the day before. She had said they needed to talk and, being who he was, Wally was afraid she was mad at him for something._

_So he made excuses: he has monitor duty, he has patrol, he has to go to work, Superman needs his help with his Rogues in Metropolis…_

_Eventually, she came storming up to the Watchtower and watched him as he and the Atom worked on the league's new Zeta tubes. He had noticed that ever since it had come out that he was a science geek, he had been asked to work on several of the league's projects._

_After an hour of waiting, Artemis was fuming._

"_BAYWATCH!" she yelled down at him. "When are you going to be done?!"_

"_Sorry Artemis," he had yelled back up to where she was on the observation deck. "Zeta tubes are tricky."_

"_Well I NEED to talk to you! As I've been trying to for the past 24 hours!"_

"_Artemis, whatever it is, I'm sorry," he said giving his best apologetic look._

_Artemis looked at him confused. "What?! No! I'm not MAD at you, you idiot, or at least I wasn't until you started avoiding me."_

"_Really? Then, what is it? Anything bad?" he asked, curiosity growing as fear subsided._

"_No, it's just…I…UGH! Can I just talk to you in private for like ten seconds?!"she snapped at him annoyed._

_He grinned at her, deciding to tease her a bit. If she was this flustered now, then imagine how tongue-tied she'd be actually talking about whatever it was she wanted to talk about. _

"_Babe, if it's nothing bad, then just say it," he said easily._

"_FINE!" she yelled. "I'M PREGNANT!"_

_He felt his eyes pop and he stammered, "W-What?"_

"_I. Am. Preg-nant," she said giving a little head shake with each syllable._

_He literally stopped breathing, causing Artemis to lean over the rail and look at him with concern. "Wally. Breathe."_

_He took a giant gasp of air and in the blink of an eye, he ran out the room, through the halls, up the stairs, and stood in front of Artemis. He dropped to his knees and grabbed her hips so he could eye her exposed stretch of stomach._

"_Wally," she said softly, "I'm only a few weeks along, I won't be showing yet."_

_He looked up at her. "But you're sure?"_

"_Yeah, I'm pretty sure," she said rolling her eyes._

_He grinned and stood up and kissed her._

"_I love you," he said as he pulled back. Then he crouched down again and said, "And I love you, too!" and he started peppering kisses onto her skin, causing her to giggle and try to squirm out of his grip._

Wally smiled thinking of when they had found out it was going to be twins. He had stopped breathing then, too, and that time he had actually passed out from it. All his fear was for nothing though.

When he held his son and daughter for the first time, he knew everything would be alright.

The labor was hard on Artemis. She had cussed out and threatened everyone she knew, in English, French, and Vietnamese.

He chuckled at the memory of her pulling Batman down to her face and yelling at him, "I. NEED. DRUGS!"

No one could have gotten away with that except for his Spitfire.

Wally looked back at the photo and eyed the young boy standing in front of his siblings. Wyatt West. He was born almost five years later and was, like his older sister and father, a speedster. He had always wanted to be a hero like his father and had taken up the mantle of Kid Flash when he was fourteen.

His disappearance had hit him and Artemis hard. It was just after his nineteenth birthday that he was pulled into the Speed Force. Wally had done everything he could to try and find him and bring him back; he had even had Nightwing try to track his energy trail, but it was no good.

All anyone could do was hope that one day he would return, and if he didn't, that he was alive and happy enough that he wanted to stay where he was.

The loss of their little brother had a positive effect on the West twins at least. The two had had a falling out after high school but reconnected with the family and became an amazing crime-fighting pair.

Wally remembered the day when he had stepped down from being Flash. His little girl was all grown up and a feeling of immense pride swelled within him along with an unbidden feeling of grief for two reasons, the first being that his girl no longer needed him. The other came from the knowledge that if Wyatt hadn't left, Wally would most certainly have passed the mantle down to his son instead.

He had looked into his daughter Iris' eyes and seen that she was thinking the same thing. Instead of being sad or determined to prove herself, she looked calm.

"_I love you dad_," she had said, and in those words, Wally had heard so much more. She was not Wally or Wyatt, she was Iris, and she would find her own way in protecting the innocent people in the world, just as Wally had when he became the Flash.

In that moment, he knew what Uncle Barry must have been feeling when he had walked through the portal on the Watchtower all those years ago. The feeling only intensified when he looked over at his eldest son, Jai, who had always been a confident and capable archer following in his mother's footsteps.

Thinking of Artemis had Wally turning his attention to the other photograph that was situated in an old pocket watch. It was the picture taken of Artemis on their wedding day and he smiled softly at how beautiful she was. The picture didn't do her justice as it didn't show her ever-present fire that blazed in her eyes.

It had been five years since Artemis had died from the same cancer that took her mother's life and not a day goes by when there isn't a hole in Wally's heart from missing her.

After her death, he had been inconsolable. He didn't remember anything up to her funeral as he was in a daze, simply going through the motions. He only remembered waking up when the gold pocket watch was shoved into his hands.

_He looked up to find a young twenty-something man standing in front of him, who he vaguely recognized as the new Dr. Fate from his old dimension, Zatara having retired long ago._

"_Nabu thought it would help," he said by way of explanation._

_Wally looked down at the watch in his hands and pushed down on the lever to open the watch. Inside was a picture of Artemis._

_Suddenly he felt like everything had come full circle. He looked around to see his two children and their families sitting together. _

_He smiled._

_He looked back at the picture and was instantly reminded of Kent's faith that he would see Inza again. Wally had never believed in much other than science, but a few times, he believed in Fate._

_At once, a calm settled over him. He still felt every ounce of pain and loss, but for the first time since Artemis had left him, he felt something else: a certainty that he would be with her again and that it would stay that way._

Wally smiled and reached out to close the watch, Kent's words echoing in his mind as he did so.

"_That's the great thing about eternity: it's eternal."_

He smiled as he fell asleep.

…

The next day, Wallace Rudolph West died from a heart attack as he saved a girl from being crushed in a collapsing building.

At his funeral, present and past league members showed up from both dimensions along with many friends and family.

On his and Artemis' shared grave stone below their dates of birth and death reads a special inscription.

_Baywatch and Spitfire will always be together in their second life._

...

**AN: **Well, the end. My first finished story! :D Please review and tell me what you think!


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